How to complain about a care home in England

If you live in a care home in England and you or your family member have a concern or issue with the care home, you have the right to make a complaint.

You also have the right to have the complaint investigated and be given a full and prompt reply. This can be regarding how you are treated by staff or you may feel that you are not getting the services you are paying for.

Always speak to the care worker involved first and then the manager as most of your concerns can be answered and resolved this way.

For incidents of criminal activity, contact the police.

The majority of care home residents across the UK are very happy in their care homes and live meaningful and fulfilling lives while being fully supported by skilled and caring staff.

The 360,000+ reviews on carehome.co.uk supports this as the vast majority of residents and their loved ones highly recommend their care homes to others.

Below is a general guide that you may find useful if you feel there is a problem and you are unsure of what to do, where to turn and what to expect.

Making a care home complaint

Making a complaint about a care home can be a daunting task. But you should not be afraid to raise any concerns that you may have. In fact, care providers should welcome this so they can resolve the situation and improve their service.

All health and social care services are required to have a complaints procedure in place and a copy of this should be readily available to you. This will tell you how the specific service deals with complaints and who you should talk to.

You can complain either by phone, in person, by email or through a letter. If you make a complaint verbally, the care home should provide you with a copy of the complaint.

Raising awareness

The manager may not know there is an issue, so having an informal chat with the care worker or the care home’s manager is a good first step to resolve the problem. This gives them an opportunity to look into your concerns, explain the situation and adjust the service accordingly.

It could be a simple misunderstanding. So making the manager aware of your concerns will likely resolve the problem and no further action is necessary. It is a good idea to agree a timeframe to make sure the manager keeps their promise. If they don’t resolve the problem within the agreed timeframe, you may have to take your complaint further to force action.

If the care service is provided by the NHS, you have to follow the NHS complaints procedure. Contact your local council to get in touch with the NHS Complaints Advocacy Service, a free and confidential service independent of the NHS.

Mental Health Act complaints

Although the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates care homes in England, they do not have the powers to make complaints for you and do not have the powers to investigate or resolve them. However, if you make a complaint about a care home, the CQC would like to hear from you.

The only time the CQC can investigate complaints is when someone is unhappy about how powers and duties have been executed under the Mental Health Act. This relates to people who have been, or are detained in hospital, subject to a community treatment order or subject to guardianship.

Even if the CQC does investigate complaints about the use of the Mental Health Act, you should speak to the service provider first and the CQC can help you with this.

If your loved one is refusing care

The reason a care home may not provide the agreed service could be because your loved one has refused care. Your loved one can do this if they don’t want certain things done for them but if this is the case, a care worker cannot fulfil their duties.

The care worker should record that your loved one refused care in their daily report sheets. Before you make a complaint, check if your loved one has refused care and discuss with the manager how the situation can be resolved.

Writing a care home complaint

If you decide to make a written complaint, either by letter or email, make sure you give full, specific details of your concerns and what results you expect. Also, it is important to make it clear that you are making a complaint.

Keeping accurate records is important and can greatly help your case if you need to take the matter further as this can be used as evidence. Put as much information as you can in writing and keep notes of phone calls, meetings and other relevant events.

Your complaint should include:

• What the problem is and how it impacts you or your loved one, for example emotionally, financially or their overall wellbeing
• Who is involved, with names and position of staff
• When and where the incident occurred or if it is ongoing. Providing a timeline of events can be helpful
• What you have already done to try to resolve the problem
• What outcome you want from your complaint
• Any relevant documents, such as your own records to reinforce your argument

If you are unhappy with the response

Self-funded

If you pay for the service yourself and think the care home’s response to your complaint has not resolved the problem, your complaint isn’t taken seriously or if you are in any other way unhappy about the outcome, you should contact the Local Government Ombudsman for investigation.

A Local Government Ombudsman’s decision is final and there is no appeal. The only way to challenge an ombudsman’s decision is through making an application to the High Court for a judicial review. You may need legal advice for this as the decision needs to be legally flawed to be challenged.

State-funded

If the care service you receive is funded by local authorities, you should contact your local council if you are unhappy with the care home manager’s response.

If your care is funded and provided by the NHS and you are unhappy with their reply, you can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to look into it. The ombudsman can recommend changes at the care home if it decides the NHS was at fault.